St. croix 5s76MF custom. with fuji micro K series

[jimmyb]

This is a spinning blank that i have built into a custom baitcasting. sort of my anti-spinning rod for open water tubes, jigs, etc. I fish a lot of offshore structure for smallmouth and i like REALLY like this blank.
Here are the specs of the build:

St.croix 5S76MF blank 1.88 oz (RDA 400 grams with a tip angle of 70)
split seat (fuji ecsm)
split handle
modified bumper spiral wrap, fuji KTAG micros (6 stripper, 4's to tip), Stripper guide rotated 30 towards spiral direction. Bumper at 90, balance of guides at 180
Final finished weight: 3.00 oz (yes, exactly 3.00)


forgive the poorer quality pics

here is the handle:





here is the spiral:




Here is my wrapped #4 micro. couple of things to notice. 1) cant pack threads tight when doing a locking wrap. Not a big deal in my book, as i prefer always doing a locking wrap, especially because of the short guide feet on a micro. 2) notice how the epoxy completely goes around the guide and thru middle of the guide. This makes for a VERY strong guide. I had a rod break last year and it was very difficult to remove the K series guides because of how the guide was encased in the finish.







I am using Daiwa Pixy on this rod with 22# toray finesse braid + 15# toray shock leader (fluorocarbon) so it will stand up to the zebras. Final combo weight (with line) is 8.93 oz

[gpoler]

Beautyful rod,
and good choice the splitted handle
can you post pics of the butt cap?

why have you decided for spiral wrapping?

[jimmyb]

i resized the picture so the butt cap shows up. the new board settings dont seem to allow anything wider than 600 pixels...

as for the spiral wrap. I have gone to using it pretty much whenever i build with micros. I dont like the line hitting the blank and with a micro, the line hits the blank almost instantly when you build on top. Yeah, i know for bass fishing the line hitting the blank isnt a big deal, but i do find it disconcerting when i am fighting a fish to have the line roll over the blank (when i rotate the rod during the fight). It makes a distinct noise and snapping sound!

[jm529]

yes, beautiful rod and great choice in the blank. perfect for dragging tubes for them offshore smallies.

i've been going away from using the fuji micros because of low frames and short feet. i have switched to amtak and batson micros for the taller frames and ease in wrapping. looks a lot neater and easier to use the forhan locking wrap.

[gpoler]

hello, thanks for the info.
I prefer to use "a lot" of resin too, also the 3 or 4 wrap after the guide, even not only the micros, they became a unique thing whit the blank.

[craigrbns]

Very nice build! Love your anti spinning rod setup! Just built a 5S70MLF for myself with almost the exact same setup to put my Sol on. The primary uses for mine will be weightless flukes and some 1/8 oz jigs for seatrout on the flats. I have to admit I came in at 3.4 oz though despite the smaller blank - I like size 17 reel seats for comfort, and like the bling of aluminum winding checks! Still feels awesome though!

[Drewbass]

Very nice. How much weight did you save by splitting the reel seat? Also what do you think about using all 4.5 TKTSG guides with a 4.5 stripper?

[jimmyb]

here are the weights of the guides:

KTAG 4 = 1.4 grains
TKTAG 4 = 0.9 grains

as measured on my powder scale. .5 grains = 0.00114 oz

So, when it comes to micros, titanium framed guides arent worth 2x the cost! (IMO they are worth it if you are building with 8 or bigger guides, but below that, the weight difference is pretty negligible). Also, the TKTAG's are polished a quite a bit and really look just like the SS... i have been building my spinning rods by using the TKLAG 25, TKLAG 16, then switch to the KTAG's to finish out the rod. Saves a quite a bit of $$$ with nearly unmeasureable weight gain

split seat saves a lot of weight

ecsm split (with hood) =.56 oz
ecsm split (with hood) =.91 oz

cork for the handle weigh about .15-.2 oz (depends on final reamed size)
cork for the butt is generally .12 - .17 oz with an eva butt cap, again depending on final reamed diameter
if you use a rubberized cork ring for the butt, that can add about .2-.3 oz just by itself!

As for a 4.5 for a stripper guide, i, personally, havent brought myself to build one that way, just because of the rod flex between the stripper guide and reel. I like the higher guide to keep the line off the blank. I was out in the yard flexing the 5s76mf and when loaded up, the line will hit the blank fairly easily between the stripper and the reel, even with the #6. On a higher power rod this is less of an issue because those rods are generally stiffer in the butt section.

[jimmyb]

i've been going away from using the fuji micros because of low frames and short feet. i have switched to amtak and batson micros for the taller frames and ease in wrapping. looks a lot neater and easier to use the forhan locking wrap.

what i was trying to show with my pics is how the K series are actually a very strong guide, despite the shortness of the foot. The guide gets thoroughly encapsulated by the finish. The guide is also MUCH stiffer than a standard single foot micro (like BLAG) because of the "Y" shape of the micro guide. Unfortunately this same shape that gives it the extra stiffness is also the reason the threads wont pack perfectly from a locking wrap. I dont think this lack of packing looks objectionable... all the guides look consistent and i cant even see it when fishing!

[Tokugawa]

This is a spinning blank that i have built into a custom baitcasting. sort of my anti-spinning rod for open water tubes, jigs, etc. I fish a lot of offshore structure for smallmouth and i like REALLY like this blank.
Here are the specs of the build:

St.croix 5S76MF blank 1.88 oz (RDA 400 grams with a tip angle of 70)
split seat (fuji ecsm)
split handle
modified bumper spiral wrap, fuji KTAG micros (6 stripper, 4's to tip), Stripper guide rotated 30 towards spiral direction. Bumper at 90, balance of guides at 180
Final finished weight: 3.00 oz (yes, exactly 3.00)


forgive the poorer quality pics

here is the handle:





here is the spiral:




Here is my wrapped #4 micro. couple of things to notice. 1) cant pack threads tight when doing a locking wrap. Not a big deal in my book, as i prefer always doing a locking wrap, especially because of the short guide feet on a micro. 2) notice how the epoxy completely goes around the guide and thru middle of the guide. This makes for a VERY strong guide. I had a rod break last year and it was very difficult to remove the K series guides because of how the guide was encased in the finish.







I am using Daiwa Pixy on this rod with 22# toray finesse braid + 15# toray shock leader (fluorocarbon) so it will stand up to the zebras. Final combo weight (with line) is 8.93 oz

Bravo!! I loooooove finesse baitcasting rods.

This blank is interesting. I have three finesse baitcasters in the queue, and was struggling for a unique third build. I just might have to copy your blank selection Jimmy.

I'm assuming that the Pixy is orange? Post the combo in show and tell.

[cuke]

i make my buddy grind down the trigger and some of the body on the cutdown ecsm reelseat- to lighten it uneven more. the problem is most every trigger is slightly different. i also only use 2 forhan locking wraps on the micros 3.5's or 4's. i use fuji titanium sics because i don't want one to fail during fishing season- as i build my rods in the winter and fish the rest of the time.

[jimmyb]

i have a plain old silver pixy's They have faithfully served me since 2001 or 2002. They wear their boat rash with pride!

I always like posting this picture to make the tackle snobs cringe!









Cuke: Why do you think the titanium guides will last longer than stainless steel framed ones????

[Tokugawa]

i have a plain old silver pixy's They have faithfully served me since 2001 or 2002. They wear their boat rash with pride!

I always like posting this picture to make the tackle snobs cringe!

Cuke: Why do you think the titanium guides will last longer than stainless steel framed ones????

<CRINGE> They look well used. Not to be a tackle snob or anything, but they could use a line guide upgrade. Are the drags stock?

Yeah - Ti will work harden faster than SS.

[cuke]

i thought all my guides were titanium but i guess some of the 3.5's were stainless. all of my bigger guides are ti framed - by bigger i mean anything over size 4. dude that pixy is gonna give me nightmares tonight

[jimmyb]

line guide upgrade wont get me anymore performance, so i will not do it. If you can tell me there is some measurable increase in performance with a different line guide, i am all ears.

of course the drags and bearings are upgraded. I couldnt do this as a spinning rod replacement with out the stock drag from the pixy being ripped out and thrown to the bottom of the lake! i shudder to think about how much the stock drag shuddered! Remember this rod is to tame big offshore SMB, so a smooth functioning drag is essential